


Vermilion

by roikaiser



Series: Mercury kills slowly [1]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yakuza, M/M, Slow Burn, rated M for violence and implied/mentioned sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-03-27 01:45:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13870470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roikaiser/pseuds/roikaiser
Summary: This mission was unlike any Keito had ever been a part of. Infiltrating the local yakuza gang in order to kill, or if possible, take captive “The Red Dragon”, the feared leader of the group.





	1. Fresh Gangster

It had to be done. Otherwise, there’d be no way they’d ever catch a single one of them. And out of everyone in the police force, Keito was indeed the best pick for this mission, no questions asked. He had good manners but he wasn’t “mild like lukewarm water” as Eichi had described Fushimi, he wasn’t too hot-headed like Himemiya, didn’t get sidetracked easily like Hibiki and had good health, unlike Eichi. However, knowing all that didn’t make him feel any better. This mission was unlike any he had ever been a part of. Infiltrating the local yakuza gang in order to kill, or if possible, take captive “The Red Dragon”, the feared leader of the group. He wasn’t very high-up in the hierarchy of the organization as a whole, but locally, he and his group were a huge pain in the neck.  
  
Despite all the preparations and assurances that the mission “wouldn’t be as bad as it sounded like”, Keito couldn’t help but feel intimidated when he stood in front of the building that would apparently serve as his home for the months (or years, he thought with horror) to come. Through some amazing, albeit faked, recommendations and very precise string-pulling they had managed to conceal his background as a detective and make him seem like gangster-in-the-making with a reputation to match. Keito still couldn’t believe they had managed to find a loophole in the local yakuza’s defenses. When he had first heard of the mission he was to be sent on, he had thought it was an absolute impossibility to infiltrate the yakuza. But now, standing there, in front of the building, he could see that sometimes, the impossible was indeed possible. Though the preparations would likely pale in comparison to the actual mission.  
  
With Eichi’s final words of warning, “Remember, Keito, don’t get too attached. You are not there to befriend them, but to expose them,” ringing in his ears, Keito climbed the couple stairs to the door and rang the doorbell. Who would’ve thought the yakuza had doorbells at their hideouts!  
  
For a good ten seconds or so, there was nothing. Then, suddenly, a robotic voice called out: “Code, please.” Startled by the by the voice, Keito froze for a moment. The metallic monotone repeated: “Code, please.” Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Keito inputted the code he had memorized onto the number pad by the door. The machine beeped in approval after he had finished typing, but after that, it was silent again. No one came to the door, the voice didn’t speak up, and Keito started wondering if it all was just some extremely elaborate prank Eichi had orchestrated to mess with his head. But just as he was about to really start doubting himself and the whole mission, the door flung open. At the doorway, there stood a young man of around the same height as Keito, looking at him with wide brown eyes.  
  
“Green hair, check!” The young man declared.  
  
Keito was confused. He had expected to be welcomed by someone a bit more intimidating, and well, yakuza-like. The man in front of him didn’t match his imagination of a gangster at all, he looked way too… Nice?  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Glasses, check! Carrying a black briefcase with a yellow stripe, check! Code, check! You are the new guy! Keito Hasumi, right?”  
  
The man kept leaning forward as he spoke, his face getting closer and closer to Keito’s own. Keito wondered if it was supposed to be an intimidation tactic or if the man was just a fool.  
  
“Yes, I am Keito Hasumi. It is a pleasure to meet you…?”  
  
“Ah! How rude of me not to introduce myself! My name is Chiaki Morisawa and I guess you could say I’m second in command here!”  
  
The man, whose name was apparently Chiaki Morisawa, struck a pose that looked absolutely ridiculous in Keito’s eyes. He refrained from commenting on it, or remarking that shouldn’t someone who’s supposedly second in command know whether he is second in command or not.  
  
“Alright then, Morisawa-san, I am in your care. Now then, if I could – “  
  
“Ah, drop the -san, we’re all part of the same family here.”  
  
Perplexed by the unexpected friendliness, Keito got ushered inside while Chiaki kept insisting that Keito should call him by his first name. Keito refused, it was way too familiar to his liking. He ought to get used to that kind of thing though, since the yakuza was supposed to be his family now.  
  
*  
  
“I guess I should show you the ropes, huh?” Chiaki said and grinned with enthusiasm Keito found somewhat unnecessary.  
  
“I would appreciate it. I have some knowledge but – “  
  
Before Keito could even finish his sentence, Chiaki cut him off:  
  
“Whahaha! You needn’t know anything, for I, Chiaki Morisawa, will teach you everything you need to know to survive!”  
  
Keito wondered if shouting in such a loud voice was allowed in the house, but he figured, based on his impression of Chiaki, that the man probably wouldn’t lower his voice even if someone told him to. Loudness seemed to be like a second nature to him.  
  
Chiaki struck a pose again. Keito couldn’t help but feel like the man had escaped from a super sentai tv-show – his poses reminded Keito of the superheroes he had admired as a child, though he remembered the heroes looking much cooler than Chiaki did.  
  
As Chiaki went on about his capabilities as a teacher, Keito eyed his surroundings. The building was certainly old, as much he had gathered from how it looked from the outside, but it was surprisingly tidy and well taken care of. The marks of age didn’t evade Keito’s eyes, however. The wooden floor was worn out and creaked under his steps and the paint on the ceiling that had likely been once white was yellowed and cracking. On the left of the door was a spiral staircase to higher floors. It looked sturdy and somewhat new, perhaps the gang had renovated the place before making it their hideout?  
  
Having noticed Keito looking around, Chiaki said:  
  
“You can leave your bags here, I’ll show you around first and then you can take them to your room, ok?”  
  
Keito nodded. If Chiaki showed him around, he wouldn’t have to snoop the place by himself. He wanted to familiarize himself with the house as soon as possible so he’d be able to inform Eichi about the layout of the place.  
  
It turned out that there wasn’t much to show on the first floor. There was the hall area with its yellowing walls and some storage space that was mostly filled with junk Keito couldn’t imagine anyone needing. There was also a mountain trash bags under the staircase, and the whole area smelled so ominous the bags might as well have contained nuclear waste. Or body parts. Probably body parts.  
  
On the other side of the building there was a small yard that contained something that might have been a garden at some point. Now it was more like a jungle. Chiaki gestured vaguely towards the three black cars parked neatly by the wall and said something about them being free to use if you could find the keys. Apparently someone named Tetora was in the habit of losing them very often.  
  
After leading Keito back inside, Chiaki locked the door.  
  
“The doors are always locked from the inside. Only the main door,” he gestured towards the door with the doorbell, “can be opened from the outside. All other doors have to be opened from the inside.”  
  
“I assume this is for security reasons,” Keito said.  
  
“Yup. What if our keys got stolen or something? Anyone could enter the place, yikes.”  
  
Ushering Keito past the suspicious-smelling trash bags and to the stairs, Chiaki continued:  
  
“You remember the code to the door, right? You better not forget it, Boss won’t be happy if you do. Oh, speaking of Boss, he’ll probably want to see you in a bit; I’ll go check with him once I’ve shown you around. You should meet my Ryuseitai, too!”  
  
“…Sorry, your Ryu– what?” Keito was utterly confused. He had absolutely not expected most, if any, of this.  
  
Chiaki kept talking as they walked up the stairs:  
  
“We have it a bit unusual, here. Instead of one big group, we have formed a couple smaller ones that function somewhat independently, have their own names and leaders and so forth. I’m the leader of a group called Ryuseitai, then there’s Itsuki’s Valkyrie and the group that’s above all of us, who Boss gets his orders from, is called UNDEAD. If it’s needed, we all can operate as one, too, but usually we carry out missions and the like with these smaller groups.”  
  
“Will I be assigned into a group as well?” Keito asked.  
  
“Hmm, probably eventually? We kinda just wing it when forming them, it’s more about friendship and who gets along with who than anything else. New people usually work with all groups at first and then settle for what suits them best. Since you do stealth stuff, you’ll probably be paired up with people who specialize in same sort of things – I’d say you’ll be working closely with Shinobu and Midori for a while, so you get the hang of things.”  
  
“Shinobu and… Midori?”  
  
“Yeah, they’re from my group. Both a bit on the shy side, but they’re really nice boys, I’m sure you’ll get along great!”  
  
Chiaki smiled widely, but Keito felt anxious. He had expected more independent work and, well, more “normal” stuff. Actually, none of the things Chiaki had told him had been included in the reports he had received from Eichi. Based on them, this group of Yumenosaki-kai had seemed like any other yakuza-gang, but now it started to seem like The Red Dragon had made some changes to the traditional layout. “ _This will surely cause problems,_ ” Keito thought. He didn’t like unexpected things.  
  
*  
  
There was a kitchen and a dining area on the second floor. The chairs around the long table were mismatched, and the gray tablecloth had lots of stains on it, but otherwise, the place looked pretty clean. Cleaner than most kitchens Keito had visited of late, anyway. Hibiki’s kitchen sink had been so dreadful Keito had had nightmares for weeks after seeing it. How long had those dishes been there?  
  
Chiaki was about to lead Keito to the hallway with more doors than Keito could count at a glance when his phone started ringing. The ringtone was the theme song to something Keito vaguely remembered watching as a child. It really seemed like Chiaki enjoyed kid’s shows.  
  
“Morisawa speaking. Yes. Right away, Boss. No, we’ll be coming immediately.”  
  
Chiaki ended the call and looked at Keito as he slipped his phone into his pants pocket.  
  
“I had thought I would’ve shown you your room first, but Boss wants to see you. Follow me.”  
  
Keito followed Chiaki up the stairs to the third floor that seemed to have the same layout as the second one. Instead of a kitchen, there was a lounge-area with comfortable-looking sofas and a pool table. Chiaki hurried past them towards the hallway that looked identical to the one on the second floor, only with way less doors. Keito almost ran into Chiaki when he abruptly stopped in front of the first door on the left side of the hallway. Chiaki raised a finger to his lips, gesturing at Keito to keep his voice low.  
  
“This is the boss’ office,” Chiaki whispered and pointed at the door with his thumb, “and the last door on the right is to his private rooms. You ought to be real careful not to cause a ruckus here, or he’ll be pissed.”  
  
“Anything else I should be aware of before I meet him…?” Keito whispered back.  
  
Chiaki nodded franticly and started instructing Keito:  
  
“When we go in, bow slightly, but keep your head up. Don’t look Boss in the face, and definitely not in the eye, your gaze should be, hmm, somewhere around his neck or chest, yeah? And only talk when he asks you something.  Just, uh, behave and it’ll all be ok. Probably. Boss ain’t an evil guy, but he really, really hates it if newbies act even slightly cocky. Understand?”  
  
Keito made an affirming noise and nodded.  
  
“Let’s go then,” Chiaki said and knocked on the door.  
  
The two sharp knocks echoed in the hallway for what seemed like an eternity before Chiaki opened the door.  
  
The office-like room looked a little intimidating when Keito first stepped in. It was a narrow but long room with a large window in the place of the back wall. The light from the window made everything in the room look like black silhouettes and illuminated the bookshelf-lined walls in a way that made them seem otherworldly. The most dominating presence in the room, aside from the tall bookshelves, was the massive desk in front of the window. Keito couldn’t see the person sitting at the desk but even the harsh light couldn’t erase the looming feeling of threat Keito got from the man he knew was there - The Red Dragon _,_ Kuro Kiryu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the entire story planned out for the most part, but I'm not sure how many chapters long it's going to be - more than ten, anyway. I hope you'll enjoy this kurokei longfic, I'm very excited to tell their story!
> 
> Follor my twitter @julmajulma for story snippets and update info!


	2. Nervous Gangster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ship will eventually be there, I promise, but not yet,,

Keito bowed his head slightly, keeping his gaze up, like he had been instructed. Chiaki did the same.  
  
“Boss, here’s Keito Hasumi, transferred here due to recommendations. His specialty is intelligence gathering.”  
  
As Chiaki spoke, Keito kept his gaze fixed on the window at the back of the room and repeated Chiaki’s instructions over and over in his head. Don’t turn your back to him when speaking with him, keep your hands in front of you so and most importantly, don’t look boss in the eye; your gaze should be at his neck or chest. Keito knew he wasn’t following the most important rule at the moment but it was also a fact that due to the sun shining from the window he couldn’t quite make out where the boss’ eyes were, so he was looking elsewhere to be safe. A quick sideward-glance told him Chiaki’s eyes weren’t on quite the boss either.  
  
In his mind, Keito was laughing. He had made up his yakuza persona without much thought and when deciding on his specialty, he had just gone with what he was actually good at. He was in charge of information gathering and processing in the police force after all. If the yakuza only knew that he was here to gather intel on them and not _for_ them. Then again, the whole point of the operation was that the yakuza didn’t know who he was – and it better stay that way too, if Keito wanted to stay alive.  
  
Keito’s thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice speaking:  
  
“Hasumi, huh… You look kinda feeble. But I guess you can’t look too flashy ‘n bulky if you’re trying to sneak around gathering intel. I’d prefer if you lost the glasses, they’ll just break and be an inconvenience.”  
  
Keito was a bit offended by the remark about his looks, but he couldn’t exactly go denying it either. Firstly, because talking back to the yakuza boss at their first meeting probably wasn’t the smartest idea, and secondly because he wasn’t exactly wrong, Keito did look a bit like a weakling with his thin and bony body and nerdy glasses.  
  
“Unfortunately I am unable to wear contact lenses so I cannot adhere to your request, but I can get the lenses changed to more durable ones so they won’t break so easily.”  
  
It was a wonder Keito’s voice didn’t falter, that’s how nervous he was. His first time meeting the Boss, the objective of his mission, and he couldn’t do as he asked him to.  
  
“Get the frames changed too while you’re at it. I don’t want anyone losing his sight because his good for nothing glasses broke, so get the sturdiest ones you can find, got it?”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
Suddenly, the clouds moved in front of the sun and the room no longer bathed in overly bright golden light. What had been mere silhouettes a moment ago was now fully visible and for some reason, Keito found himself drinking the sight in front of him. The man sitting at the mahogany desk was regarding him with his head slightly tilted to one side, fingers absentmindedly brushing his lips. He looked more like a lion than a dragon with the mane of red hair that framed his face. A beast ready to devour its prey. Keito shuddered, and for the smallest of moments, his eyes lingered on the Boss’ face, taking in the square jaw and narrow, piercing eyes, before quickly lowering his gaze again.  
  
Chiaki spoke:  
  
“I was thinking of having Hasumi work with Shinobu and Midori for now – “  
  
“Yeah, let’s let the boys see if your recommendations are all talk or if you’re actually good for something, Keito Hasumi.” The Boss spoke his name slowly, syllable by syllable, and Keito shivered. He could feel the Boss’ eyes burning holes into his forehead, but he kept his own gaze low. The man was likely testing him, this was just an intimidation tactic to see if Keito would follow the rules and keep his eyes where he should.  
  
“I aim to please,” Keito said, and it was a wonder his voice didn’t falter. He could see Boss raising his eyebrows at his words.  
  
“ _Oh do you now_ ,” the man replied, carefully articulating and emphasizing every word. Keito’s knees felt weak. He was scared, but miraculously managed to whisper:  
  
“I will not disappoint.”  
  
The Red Dragon folded his hands beneath his chin and moved his gaze from Keito to Chiaki. A sly smile played on his lips when he talked:  
  
“I like this one, Morisawa, he has at least some guts. What were you saying about Takamine and Sengoku earlier?”  
  
Chiaki, who seemed unfazed by Kuro’s behavior (or maybe he was just used to it), proceeded to explain his plans about integrating Keito into their group. Most of the things he had told Keito already, but there was some new information as well, mostly the kind Keito couldn’t understand, such as things about places and people he wasn’t familiar with. He heard names ‘Shinobu’ and ‘Midori’ mentioned several times, as well as ‘Sengoku’ and ‘Takamine’. Keito vaguely recalled Chiaki mentioning that Shinobu and Midori were a part if his group. As he listened to the conversation, Keito eventually came to the conclusion that Chiaki and the Boss were talking about two, not four, people and just referred to them with different names. Chiaki, who was close to the two, called them by their first names, but Kuro referred to them with their surnames. Keito kept listening:  
  
“Are you sure Sengoku can handle this without your help?”  
  
“But of course! Shinobu is a good child, and Midori will be there to back him up if necessary! They will take good care of Hasumi.”  
  
“Alright, I’ll take your word for it. Just don’t leave it all to the kids, as capable as you claim them to be they’ll still need your guidance. As will Hasumi.”  
  
“I will take care of Hasumi’s basic training and see to that he is equipped to go on missions with Shinobu and Midori. Should I also send him to Valkyrie?”  
  
“Nah, Itsuki won’t be too happy if you just do how you please. He’ll contact Hasumi himself when he feels the time is right, so don’t worry about it.”  
  
Keito wondered what this so-called ‘Valkyrie’ would be like. He remembered Chiaki mentioning it when he had been talking about the smaller groups within the gang, and from the Boss’ words he figured the central figure in the group was called Itsuki, but that was about it. The group’s name had an elegant but pressuring air about it but Keito had trouble imagining what sort of people would name their group in such a way. Norse mythology, in a yakuza gang of all places?  
  
Kuro stood up from his desk, having finished talking with Chiaki. Now that he was standing, Keito could see that the Boss was a tall man, towering above both Chiaki and Keito himself.  
  
Kuro walked to the side of the room and reached up his hands to take something from the tall bookshelf. Keito was confused for a moment, until he understood what the Boss was trying to take from the shelf. It wasn’t a book, but a small wooden box that was on top of a pile of dusty-looking books. Despite his tallness, the Boss had to reach a bit to be able to take the box down from the shelf. He blew gently on the box once he had it in his hands, to get some of the dust off it and for a moment the man was partly shrouded in a cloud of dirt. He coughed lightly and opened the box.  
  
The box was closed as quick as it had been opened, and Kuro placed it back on it’s original place on the self. For a moment Keito wondered if anything at all had even been taken from the box since it was closed again so quickly, but a glint of silver in the Boss’ hand proved him wrong.  
  
“You’ll need a key to your room. Morisawa will show the place to you,” Kuro said and threw the key to Keito with a small flick of his wrist. Keito, who had just barely caught the key, examined it warily. It looked just like any normal key, and had a small black keychain attached to it. It probably wasn’t one of a kind, the Boss likely had a replica of it, or better yet, a master key that could open any lock in the house. An illusion of privacy, that’s what the key was, a false sense of security for Keito to depend on, a way to get him to reveal his hand ahead of time. But he wasn’t going to fall for this sort of a cheap trick, oh no. __  
  
The Boss was still standing in front of the bookcase, eyeing Keito with something akin to mild interest in his eyes. He seemed to be measuring Keito with his gaze, something Keito had noticed Chiaki also doing when he thought he wasn’t looking.  
  
“Your weapon of choice, Hasumi?”  
  
“Firearms, sir.”  
  
Kuro gave him a look that said “honey, you are going to have to do better than _that”_ and Keito quickly continued:  
  
“I’m at my best when paired with a semi-automatic handgun. Glock 17 is the pistol I have the most experience with, but I also have sufficient abilities with other guns.”  
  
All Keito was given in reply was a nod as the Boss turned around in seeming disinterest and walked back to his desk. Suddenly, the air felt awfully tense, like Keito and Chiaki were only intruding and bothering the Boss.  
  
Chiaki seemed unfazed by the sudden turn of events yet again, and Keito wondered what it would take to get the man to at least look a bit surprised. He smiled at Keito and spoke to the boss, who was now furiously typing something on his computer:  
  
“By your leave, Boss.”  
  
Kuro waved his hand at them dismissively and couldn’t even be bothered to look up from his laptop screen. Keito felt angry. He had only just met the man, and for a moment he had though he had caught his eye, interested him, but the Boss had suddenly casted him away like a child would leave a broken toy to gather dust. Where all this anger was coming from, he wasn’t sure, but his mind kindly supplied him with thoughts about failing to get closer to his target before he could give the matter too much thought.  
  
In his annoyance and irritation, Keito swore an oath to himself, an oath he hid in the depths of his heart, it was a promise to catch the man no matter what, even if Keito himself had to be torn apart for that to become reality.  
  
With vigor fueled by his sudden fury, Keito thought:  
  
_What a disgusting man Kuro Kiryu was – no, what a despicable excuse for a man he was!_  
  
It was a hard thought, the kind that’s angular and rough and sharp around the edges, the kind that stings a bit every time your mind touches it. In later times Keito would come to see that it would not be his mission, nor the Boss that tore him apart, but his own thoughts would carve his heart and mind hollow from the inside out, until only the empty shell was left.


End file.
